The Fowler-Cooper Resolution
by jontat83
Summary: A complete three chapter story exploring the events after the Season 10 finale. The proposal and Amy's answer, the Ramona Kiss, friends wondering where Sheldon went to. A day out in Princeton, Skype scenes, surprises, speculation, shock, Sheldon's return home and much much more.
1. Chapter 1

**THE FOWLER-COOPER RESOLUTION - Chapter One**

 _ **Amy's Princeton Apartment**_

Sheldon still on bended knee looks up at Amy. He notices her breathing becoming rapid, mouth wide open and a stunned look on her face. "Amy are you okay? My knee is starting to go numb here."

A breathless Amy with her left hand on her chest around her heart "I err Sheldon..."

"Amy are you having a panic attack?!" he said with alarm.

Amy gasping and struggling for breath "I think I must be, the shock of all this", gasping once again "It was not at all what I was expecting."

"Remember SoccerMom09's advice, we need to get you sat down and relax your breathing" he said.

"Okay" she replied increasingly short of breath.

Sheldon got up closed the ring box and placed it back in his right trouser pocket. He puts his arm around Amy and calmly walks her over to the couch, helping her sit down. Sitting next to her Sheldon notices the almost empty cup of tea already on the table in front of the couch next to Amy's closed Laptop "Would you like another cup of tea? Perhaps it might help calm you down?"

"No I am fine now, I am starting to get my breath back" she replied, her breathing clearly starting to get back to normal.

"Good, you had me worried for a minute there. I was expecting a reaction to my sudden appearance and proposal, but that obviously isn't what I had in my mind" he said.

"Sheldon, I know you will be expecting an answer and before I do I have to ask. Why propose now? Why not any other time before I went away on this fellowship?" she asked.

"That's the thing Amy, you were away and I was missing you terribly. I know it has only been a few days but as the saying goes 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'" he answered.

"I have only been away for a few days Sheldon! I am not sure that saying applies here. In that context, it's usually months or years" she laughed.

"I have been thinking about this for some time Amy, it's not just a spur of the moment thing. It just feels like the right time, I want us to get married and become husband and wife" he said with a smile.

"I know and I have wanted that too believe me, I have been waiting a long time hoping you would ask me. Honestly, I was starting to wonder if it would ever happen, but things have been going so well between us these past few months with us finally living together I didn't want to put any pressure on you" she said looking at him in with a loving smile.

"So is it a yes or a no?" he asked, eager to know her response.

"Just one thing, does this by any chance have something to do with Ramona?" she asked.

"The proposal? No, but Penny was right Ramona was interested in starting a relationship with me. I asked her flat out if that was her motivation for spending time with me this past couple of days and she confirmed that. As I was listing off reasons why nothing was going to happen she kissed me" he said with some shock in his voice.

Amy's eyebrows raised and her face suddenly becoming hard and stern "She kissed you?!"

"Yes" he replied with some sadness in his voice.

"Okay Sheldon you need to explain exactly what happened here" she said with her voice sounding considerably higher.

 _ **Meanwhile back in Pasadena, Apartment 4A**_

Penny is at the Kitchen Island making a hot drink and eating a box of Almond Nut Thins, she hears the doorknob turning and in walks Leonard.

"Hey sweetie, good day at work?" she said with a smile.

"Yeah pretty good, been going through some ideas for something new to work on. With the guidance system project gone I need something to really get my teeth into and focus on" he replied with some enthusiasm in his voice.

"Good to see you getting back into the swing of things and working on something new. What do you fancy to eat tonight, some takeaway? Maybe Chinese?" she asked.

"That sounds good" Leonard replied.

"Okay, well I will pop over to 4B and ask if Sheldon wants to join us. Keep him company with Amy away and I want to keep him well away from that Ramona, that girl and what she is up to still concerns me" she said with some worry in her voice and genuine concern for their friend.

"Funny you should say that. I went to pick up Sheldon from work for the drive home and he wasn't there" he suddenly remembered.

"What do you mean he wasn't there? You haven't fallen out have you? Sheldon hasn't taken public transport again and got lost?" she asked.

"No we haven't fallen out there was no sign of him in his office. His door was wide open and his Laptop on his desk was in sleep mode" he said with no major concern in his voice.

"And that didn't concern you?" she said.

"No not really. Anyway I asked around and Dr Strathclyde in Particle Theory a couple of offices down said he saw Sheldon walking out with a determined look on his face" he answered.

"So where is he? Did he go home?" she quizzed him.

"I would presume so" he replied.

"Well I am going over to check if he's okay and if he wants to eat with us" she said with some purpose.

"Knock yourself out" he replied.

Penny puts down the box of nut thins already half empty and makes her way to the front door. She hesitates at the door and for some reason has this urge to pick up the 4B spare key.

"I'll be back in a moment, get ready to make the takeout order when I come back" she said.

"Sure, I just need to send this email whilst you are over there" he said as he was looking at his laptop.

Penny walks over to the 4B door and knocks "Sheldon are you in there, we are having Chinese, do you want to come over and eat with us?"

No response

"Sheldon can you hear me?" this time her voice louder in case he didn't hear her the first time.

Again no response

Penny thought to herself maybe he is in the bathroom? Or maybe that Harpy Ramona is in there with him doing something weird or worse something normal. Penny shuddered at the thought of them actually being physical. A wave of concern suddenly hit Penny so she decided to open the door with the spare key.

Penny muttered out loud to herself "Leonard said he wasn't at work and Sheldon knows the time Leonard picks him up. Screw it I am going in. If I see what I see then so be it."

Penny opened the door and there was no sign of Sheldon in the living room. Penny with a raised voice in case Sheldon was perhaps in the bedroom or its adjoining bathroom "Sheldon are you home?"

No response, a deathly quiet filled the apartment. No soul was in there. Penny talking to herself "I wondered what has happened to him?"

Penny knocked on the bedroom door "Sheldon, are you in there?" After five seconds with no response Penny opened the door and went into the bedroom. There was no sign of Sheldon, the bed was neatly made and the room itself was as neat and tidy as usual. Penny then checked out the bathroom that was open and there was no sign of Sheldon in there. Penny then closed and locked the door to 4B and made her way back to 4A.

Upon entering the apartment Leonard was sat down at his desk in front of his laptop.

"OK the email has been sent and I am ready to make our order. I'll order the usual for us and Sheldon?" he asked her.

"Sheldon's not there" she said with real concern now in her voice.

Leonard surprised at the tone of his wife's voice "Okay now I am worried, he wasn't at work when I came to his office to drive us home and he is not in his apartment? Is there a note or anything?" he asked her.

"Nothing, there is no sign he has been there recently" still clearly concerned.

"What is going on? Where could he possibly be? The train store? I think they have that special night that Sheldon has been going on about all week, some new model train coming into stock. But that's not for a couple more days" he said to his wife.

"You don't think he is with Ramona do you?" she asked him with a frown on her face.

"Well she took him swimming the other day, I guess it's possible they are trying something else new" he replied.

"'Friend stuff' is not what I am worried about Leonard! I had the conversation with Sheldon last night about Ramona clearly showing interest in him and he shot me down saying she is just a friend and I am misreading the situation" she said sounding exasperated.

"So you are worried Ramona might have made her move? Or that Sheldon might have done something. I know he is feeling vulnerable right now with Amy being away, but this is Sheldon we are talking about here. If it makes you feel better should we call Amy?" he said somewhat dismissively.

"No not yet, we need to find out some more before we contact her. It's pretty late over there right now with the time difference, I don't want to wake her up if he's at a train store" she answered.

"Well I do have the GPS tracking software on Sheldon's phone. We could use that though it has been a long time since I last used it and not since Amy and Sheldon moved in across the hall" he told her.

"Okay let's do that, it might give us an idea where he is and then is we are still concerned we ring his phone. I don't want to just ring it if he is somewhere we know he usually goes" she instructed.

"Okay, well I just need to run some Windows updates on my laptop before I can run the program. I downloaded them at work but they will need some time to update the system files" he said.

"Good, you can order our food then whilst you wait"

"Okay, so the usual?" he asked her as he picked up his phone.

"Yes, though order me some extra fortune cookies" she replied.

"That won't help find Sheldon or mystically say why or where he has gone" he chuckled.

"Just do it Leonard!" she said clearly irritated probably down to worrying about her friend.

"Okay ringing now" he said.

 _ **Meanwhile back at the Princeton apartment**_

Amy pacing around the Princeton digs, voiced slightly raised but not shouting "So Ramona kissed you?"

"Yes" he replied still sitting on the couch.

"Kissed you as in she kissed you and you didn't kiss her? Or kiss her back reciprocating the advance?" she said still pacing.

"No I didn't kiss her back" he answered.

Amy struggling to get her head around this "Sheldon you need to explain in what context she kissed you, what were the events beforehand that made her kiss you or felt it was OK to do so" she asked him.

"Okay here is what happened. I asked Ramona flat out was she interested in starting a relationship and to my surprise she said she was" he said.

Amy with her pace quickening, face slowly changing to something more akin to anger, voice now shouting "I just knew she was trouble!"

"As I was saying her response was she was interested. I listed reasons why nothing was going to happen between us, she is a work colleague and more importantly and I stressed this forcefully to her, I'm already in a relationship" he added.

"And then she kissed you?" she asked him, voice still raised.

"Yes" he answered.

"And then what happened?" she asked him.

"Well I was in total shock. I told her I was not interested and yet she still kissed me. My impulse kicked in and that was telling me to get the hell out of there" he said.

Amy's voice easing in volume "Okay, so you got out of there. Did you tell her it was inappropriate to kiss you and that she was way out of line?"

"No, I just said excuse me and walked out" he said.

"Sheldon you should have told her she was out of line!" not in an angry tone but slightly stressed.

"I freaked out, I wasn't expecting it and it quite frankly disgusted me" he said sounding freaked out by the experience.

"It's okay Sheldon. It sounds like Ramona was way out of line here you haven't done anything wrong." she replied, her voice much lower now.

"I feel really foolish here" he said looking down and upset.

Amy showing concern sat down on the couch, held Sheldon's hand and started stroking his hand with her thumb "Why do you feel foolish?"

"That I didn't pick up on her intentions, I know I have difficulty reading people but I thought I had made real progress especially these past few months" he replied.

"Sheldon..." she said softly, still stroking his hand.

"I should have listened to Penny, she warned me she picked up on what Ramona's intentions were and I didn't listen" he replied with anguish and pain.

"Sheldon, don't be so hard on yourself, I believe what you said about how it transpired. I know how hard it is for you to read people and you have improved a lot when it comes to that." Amy slightly changing the subject in an effort to ease the apparent pain on his face "So when you left you went home and then straight here?"

"I took a cab home to get the ring and then another cab to LAX. And here I am" he answered.

"It's very sweet you came all this way and on your own! I have been missing you like crazy" she said smiling and still holding his hand.

"I've been missing you too, so much so I just felt the urge to come here right way and propose" he said.

"Are you sure this is the right time and that you want this?" she asked him her voice low and somewhat comforting.

"Absolutely, remember the conversation in our home just before you left saying I find great comfort in you being around and waking up next to you each morning? Well I meant that and these past few days have just reinforced that, I want this feeling for the rest of our lives" he said.

Sheldon delicately removed his hand from hers, eased off the couch and goes down once again on bended knee. He then reached into his pocket for the ring case and opened it as Amy is sitting on the couch.

"Amy you mean the world to me, I will only ever have eyes for one woman and that's you. You are not just a girlfriend, you are my soul mate. You came into my life and transformed it, a lot of the real life things that people experience I simply never thought possible for me before I had met you. I want you to be my wife and take the next step in our journey together" he said with real emotion in his voice.

"Oh Sheldon, the ring is beautiful as are your words" she said voice trembling and tears about to flow.

"I'll keep this next part quick as I don't want you having another panic attack. Amy Farrah Fowler will you marry me?" he asked looking directly in her eyes hoping for the response he of course desired.

"Of course, Yes!" Amy let out a small laugh and trying to fight the raw emotions and the tears.

Sheldon with a beaming smile gently eased the family heirloom out of its box and slides it onto Amy's ring finger, by chance a perfect fit. Amy holds the hand up so she can get a better look at the ring and savour the moment, tears now starting to flow down her eyes and onto her cheeks.

"I love you Sheldon" she said not breathless but totally calm and at ease.

"I love you too" he replied.

They go in for a kiss and then a hug, emotionally drained from the whole event they then sit on the couch and cuddle. After 15 minutes of silence and a period of contentment Amy sits up and straightens herself.

"So what happens now? I still have my work here at Princeton to finish" she said.

"Well my flight back is tomorrow night and I do want you to continue doing your work here as I am proud of you and want you to make it a success" he smiled.

"Tomorrow night you say?" she replied with a suggestive look and a sultry voice.

"Yes, I thought maybe I could have a look around your campus and also check out those famous gardens and some of the faculty whilst you are working" he replied.

"I actually have the day off tomorrow, we can go around together and I can show you around the place" she said smiling at him.

"That sounds great" with enthusiasm in his voice.

"But that's tomorrow and we have a good few hours until then" the voice once again sultry and low almost whispering.

"Indeed we do" his voice also low, eyebrows raised and perhaps noticing what she might have in mind.

"What do you think of the apartment?" she asks as she grabs hold of his hand again.

"Quite cosy and snug" he answered.

"This is only part of it, let me show you the bedroom" her voice even more sultry and the intent clear.

Hand in hand Amy leads Sheldon into her Princeton bedroom and Sheldon shuts the door.

 _ **Meanwhile back in Pasadena, Apartment 4A**_

"Okay the updates are done I am booting up windows now. In a few minutes I should be able to run this GPS tracker to see where the hell Sheldon is" Leonard said almost excitedly.

"We may have to find out where Ramona is staying and check the GPS with that location, Amy is going to kill me if something has happened between them!" she said with concern in her voice.

"You talked to Sheldon, told him clearly what Ramona was up to and he ignored that. I am not sure what else you could have done" he tried to give her a reassuring look as he said this.

"I know I know, it's just I promised Amy I would keep an eye on him" as she let out an exasperated sigh.

"Anyway I suspect he's at one of his usual places, perhaps some night time event is going on and he is there. I am sure he will ring or text me if he wants picking up" again he tried to calm the situation and ease any worries his wife had.

Penny walks over to the fridge to get a bottle of ice cold water.

"Penny, I err found Sheldon's location" he added with surprise in his voice.

"Where is he?!" she replied though far louder than she had intended to say that.

"Well he's not at one of his local usual places" he said.

"Spit it out Leonard" she was clearly irritated thinking he was trying to drag out Sheldon's location for dramatic effect.

"Well according to this GPS tracker he is in New Jersey, specifically the Princeton campus" he told her.

"Really?" she said with some surprise.

"Yes really" repeating what he said as it was the truth.

"I wonder why he has gone to see Amy, has something happened? Did Ramona do something? How in the hell did he even get there and travel on his own?" she speculated and at the same time was asking her husband.

"I don't know what he is doing there but he is clearly there and Amy is there as we already know" he said.

"I'll call Amy and find out" she replied.

"She could be in bed by now. And do we want to disturb them? What if something happened and Sheldon has felt the need to rush over there? I say we leave it until the morning and then find out" it was the sensible thing to do he felt.

"Ok, but I am texting Bernadette" she said.

"And I'll text Raj" he said with his phone in his hand.

"I don't think I am going to sleep much tonight. I really need to know what's going on" she said with much excitement in her voice and an urge to find out.

"Me too babe, me too" he said.


	2. Chapter 2

**THE FOWLER-COOPER RESOLUTION - Chapter Two**

 ** _That morning at Amy's Princeton Apartment_**

Sheldon is pottering around Amy's Princeton apartment, looking through the cupboards to see what stocks of food Amy has for making some breakfast. All he finds is a white pre-sliced toast loaf. Sheldon carefully undoes the little bit of plastic seal with the date on it, noticing Amy has a 4 slice capacity toaster he pops in four slices of bread. He is rather hungry so he will at least eat two slices, Amy at least one maybe two.

Amy wearing her white dressing gown and brown/tan slippers walks into the living room then over to the kitchen seating next to Sheldon and gives him a kiss, "Morning" Amy says with a smile on her face obvious that last night's events both in the living room and the bedroom afterwards are still very fresh in her mind.

Sheldon also with a smile on his face responds "Morning, I have just been looking through your cupboards to see what you have in and all I could find with this loaf of bread. I put two slices in for you but if you only eat one it doesn't matter" he told her.

"I am pretty hungry two slices will be fine, there is some butter in the fridge. I don't have much stock in right now, was planning to go shopping later today, maybe we could still fit that in before you go? If not I will go myself tomorrow"she replied.

"I think we can fit that in, I can help you do the shopping for groceries" he said enthusiastically.

Amy nodded accepting that would be a good idea "So what did you exactly have in mind today, anything in particular you want to see or do?"

"Well I thought maybe first you could show me around your lab and then look around the campus a bit? Perhaps fit some lunch in there as well?" he answered.

Amy nodding approvingly and with some enthusiasm "That sounds good! I can't wait to show you around my lab. It's not much different than my lab at Caltech, but it's a lot newer and it does have some equipment that I don't have there. Some of it fairly new and expensive" she added.

"In the rush over here I didn't pack any clothes, stupid I know. I had the opportunity to pack something when I went to get the ring but for some reason I totally forgot" he said sighing.

"Would it alarm you that I have one of your t-shirts fresh and clean that you could use?" her voice low and a coy look appeared on her face.

"Well I did stumble across that sack of rice wearing one of my old t-shirts that time at your old apartment that I thought I had got rid of, so no it wouldn't alarm me. I get that you missed me, but I am surprised that you took one with you" he said with some surprise.

"It's a bit silly I know, but it's just something to remind me of home and more importantly you. Besides I have noticed one of my spare pairs of glasses has gone missing, would you happen to know anything about that?" clearly trying to get him to confess to doing something similar with one of her items.

Sheldon sheepishly looking away and trying to bring this particular conversation to a conclusion and change the subject "The t-shirt will be fine, thank you."

Amy then went over to the sink to fill the kettle with water and placed it on the heating plate, it's an electric kettle. She flipped the switch and it started to hiss and bubble.

The toaster popped up, Sheldon went over to the fridge and got the butter out and then some plates out of the cupboard.

"Did you tell Leonard and Penny you were coming to visit?" she asked with curiosity.

Sheldon went back to the cupboard got two teabags out and two cups, placing them on the unit he put the teabags into the cups but suddenly froze and went white "I err, I completely forgot, Leonard was supposed to pick me up and take me home, I bet he is wondering where I got to" he said with some alarm.

"Sheldon, they could be thinking something bad has happened to you!" she said her voice slightly louder.

Sheldon having just poured the water into the two cups: "I know, I guess I better let Leonard know I am here." Sheldon reached into his pocket to get out his phone, he remembers the ring case is still in his right pocket so he takes it out and places that into his left pocket. He then gets out his phone and presses a button, the screen lights up.

Amy with a mischievous look on her face that reminded Sheldon of the times they used to do experiments on their friends without their knowledge or that time they spread gossip to see how long it took to get around the group: "Wait, let's have some fun with this" she said with an almost cunning smile.

"What do you mean Amy? What did you have in mind?" he said with a mixture of shock but also intrigue.

"Well they don't know you are here. And besides, what do we tell them? That we are now engaged? Or should we keep it a secret and surprise them?" she answered.

Sheldon pressing buttons on his phone "Well I have had no texts or missed calls from Leonard, Penny or anyone for that matter and no voicemails. On the subject of the engagement what do you want to do? Tell them? Keep it a secret? Amy no offense and I say this with all the love in the world, you are not a good secret keeper" he said.

"Hey I can keep a secret, true maybe not this secret but I don't always give it up that easy" she smiled.

"Anyway, aren't you desperate to tell Penny and Bernadette we are now engaged?" he chuckled.

"I am, but let's see if we can keep it quiet for now. Turn off your phone and I will turn off mine for now" she said with a very cheeky smile as she turned off her phone.

Sheldon also turns off his phone "Amy I suspect Leonard knows where I am, he has the means. I have a GPS tracker in my phone and he still has access to it. He will know I am here most likely" he added.

But he doesn't know WHY you are here, what has happened and when you are coming back. Let's have some fun. I have no doubt they are gossiping back in Pasadena especially Penny and Bernadette." she laughed.

"Amy you are such a naughty Vixen" he smiled.

Amy blew into the freshly brewed hot cup of tea to try and make it cool enough to avoid burning her lip. With a cheeky smile and a slight wink of acknowledgement at Sheldon's compliment before taking her first sip of tea "I know."

 ** _Meanwhile in Pasadena, Apartment 4A_**

Penny and Leonard are fully dressed and sitting at the Kitchen Island having breakfast. Penny is eating a plate of strawberry Pop Tarts and Leonard is having a bowl of cereal, with soy milk on top. Leonard is poking at the bowl with his spoon and reluctantly eating it, it doesn't taste that great but it is lactose-free so no stomach trouble he keeps telling himself.

"What time are Howard, Bernadette and Raj coming over?" asked Leonard.

Penny eating her final bite of her Pop Tarts glances over to the clock "Should be any minute now."

Leonard dropping the spoon into the bowl and pushing it away as he has had enough of its blandness "Good, we need to discuss what we should do about Sheldon."

"You mean specifically should we find out what is going on, either contacting Sheldon or Amy or just staying the hell out of it?" she said correcting him.

"Precisely, I think we are agreed we should stay out of it" he said.

"Are you not curious about what is going on?" she said shaking her head and disagreeing with his stance on the matter.

"A bit yes, it's unusual for Sheldon to take off like that" he pointed out.

"He went off on that train journey that was pretty sudden" trying to correct him again.

"True, but we know he is in New Jersey and that Amy is almost definitely with him" he said.

The door to 4A opens and in walks Bernadette her pace seemingly quicker than usual she looks over to Penny and Leonard at the Kitchen Island "Have you heard anything?" she said with a tone of intrigue.

"No, not nothing yet, still deciding what to do. Been waiting until you all got here to discuss what our options are" Penny replied.

Howard walks in carrying a sleeping Halley in a baby car seat, "I'll just put her in your bedroom as usual if that's OK?"

"Sure" replied Leonard.

Howard heads off to the bedroom carrying the baby car seat.

Raj also entering the apartment, playing with his phone "Hey guys."

Penny and Leonard responding and nodding "Hey."

Penny asks them if they want anything to drink Bernadette responds "A bottle of water for now will be fine, better make that two, one for Howard as well." Raj responds "Same for me please."

Penny goes over to the fridge and grabs three bottles of ice cold water and then places all three on the table in front of the couch. Bernadette is now sitting in the middle, almost on Sheldon's treasured spot and Raj is to the right of her at the end of the couch. Howard walks in and takes his place in-between his wife and Raj. Leonard and Penny are sitting on chairs near the table as they usually do when the whole group is here.

"So tell me everything that happened! I got your text last night saying that Sheldon had taken off and was in New Jersey?!" Bernadette said excitedly and eager to know what is going on.

Leonard relayed everything to the group. The order of the events as they played out and what they knew up to this point.

"I am just not sure what to do, do we call one of them? Or if something has happened between them and not in a good way with Ramona on the scene do we stay out of it?" Penny said with a look of indecision about what to do on her face.

"It's simple really, we call Amy and find out what the hell is going on!" replied Bernadette with a tone of authority and leadership.

"I think so too" Penny said nodding in agreement.

"Hold on, I am not sure this is a good idea, Sheldon would have contacted me if something bad has happened, perhaps even wanting me to come and get him. And wouldn't Amy have contacted you by now?" added Leonard.

"That's true, but again why would Sheldon go all that way and not tell anyone about it?" Penny asked the group and looked at all of them.

"Who knows with Sheldon and some of the things he does" Howard said sarcastically and had been quietly listening and observing up until that point.

"Well, what do you think we should do Howie?" Bernadette said looking at her husband.

Howard with a glance at Leonard as he says this "I agree with Leonard here, I think we should stay out of it. I am sure if we are to learn more we will later today. Let one of them contact us."

Penny with a probably louder than she expected or had meant to "But I really need to know! She then glances over and points at both her husband and Howard "So you aren't at all curious about this?"

"Not really, sorry" answered Howard.

"Babe you know I am, it's just I feel staying out of it is the right course of action here" Leonard said to his wife.

Raj who has been playing with his phone the entire time as they were having a conversation looks up probably as it went deathly quiet in the room and sees everyone looking at him.

"What's your take on this Raj? What do you think we should do?" asked Leonard, eager to hear what he thought.

Raj puts down his phone and responds with a tone of calmness "It's a tricky one, I get what you are saying Leonard perhaps we should wait but I am slightly curious myself wondering what is going on."

Bernadette and Penny both send a look over to Raj, almost with an authoritative glare. Raj then adds "Let's contact one of them, find out what is going on."

Penny and Bernadette smile and nod to each other, Leonard having seen the decision has been made nods as well "Yeah let's find out." Howard just shrugs his shoulders sitting there taking a sip from his bottle of water.

Penny gets out her phone, presses some buttons and then puts the phone to her ear "I am calling Amy." After 10 seconds or so Penny removes the phone from her ear and holds the phone in both hands "No answer, it just goes straight to voice mail."

Leonard gets out his phone as well, "I'll ring Sheldon and see if he picks up." Like Penny after 10 seconds or so he removes the phone from his ear "No answer, just voice mail like Amy."

"That's strange, they both aren't answering? What is going on?!" said Bernadette with a raised voice.

"Well we have no way of knowing what is going on unless we eventually get through to them or they contact us" added a defeated Penny.

Penny puts her phone down in front of her on the table. Leonard places his back in his shirt pocket. Penny with a look of determination and resolve on her face "I'll try again in a few minutes, perhaps leave a voicemail message this time."

"I hope everything is OK over there" said a concerned Bernadette.

"Me too Bernadette, me too!" said Penny.

 ** _Meanwhile at Princeton_**

Amy and Sheldon are walking around the Princeton campus on the way to the lab, Amy wanted to hold hands but Sheldon reluctantly told her this is her place of work and perhaps it's not a good idea. Amy seeing a reason to his point reluctantly agreed.

"It's really quite beautiful this campus, verdant green lawns and flowers starting to blossom" said a peaceful looking Sheldon.

"Wait until you see some of the gardens" replied Amy excited.

"So what's this lab of yours like?" he asked her.

"It's pretty new actually, they have spent quite a lot of money on some new equipment, state of the art and one of the few places in the world that have them. In the US it's the only academic place that has some of them" she said smiling.

"Really? That's interesting" he replied.

"I haven't really had much time yet to use any of it, it has only been a few days since I got here. Been familiarizing myself with Lab protocols, reading up on some of the work already been done here. I have met some of my colleagues and some grad students" she said.

"Any scientists that are just as intelligent as me, tall as me but have blonde long hair like Thor?" he asked her struggling to keep a straight face.

Amy chuckled remembering the conversation they had just before she left Pasadena as they were walking down the stairs of their apartment block to the cab "No nobody as tall as you and with hair like Thor. There are some very intelligent scientists here doing some ground-breaking research here however. I've met most of them and I know some by reputation in the world of neuroscience."

They walked up to a fairly new modern looking building, Amy went into her jacket pocket and pulled out a key card using it on the device and opened the door holding it open for Sheldon to enter "This is where my lab is" you could hear the undeniable excitement in her voice.

"I can't wait to see it" he said with great enthusiasm and interest.

"And I can't wait to show you around" she smiled clearly noticing how excited he was and interested in her work.

They walked around the new modern and sleek lab, Amy showing Sheldon where all the equipment is all neatly organized in different zones for different parts of the experiment and testing process. She showed off the state of the art freezers with biological samples in them, frozen brains of various animals and also humans. All in all Sheldon was impressed at the lab and in particular its organized neatness. Amy was beaming with a smile as she was showing him around the place and happy he was taking such an interest in her work.

When they moved to Amy's work area looking at her desk with various items such as pen pots, work laptop, various folders all neatly organized etc a man approached. Sheldon looked at the man who must be in his early to mid-50's with graying black hair, wearing glasses and reaching around 6 ft in height.

Amy with a smile and a warm introduction "Sheldon, this is Dr. Edwards one of my colleagues who works in the same faculty. Dr. Edwards this is my boyfri... sorry Fiancé Dr. Sheldon Cooper." Amy smiled as she corrected herself, Sheldon isn't my boyfriend now he is my Fiancé she thought to herself and that felt really good saying that.

Sheldon who has been working on his phobia when it comes to handshakes and germs outstretched his arm and shook Dr. Edwards' hand, a strong grip. Sheldon had forgotten to bring many things with him but he was happy he still had that small travel sized bottle of Purell in his left pocket for later.

"Dr. Edwards a pleasure to meet you" Sheldon smiled.

"The pleasure is all mine" Dr. Edwards smiled.

Sheldon picked up he had an accent, couldn't quite place the exact dialect but knew it was English. Sheldon being the curious sort of fellow he is and also saw it as an opportunity to strike a conversation "I noticed you have an English accent, what part of the UK are you from Dr. Edwards?" Dr. Edwards replied "Stratford-Upon-Avon, a place near the Midlands in England."

Sheldon's eyes lit up "Ah Shakespeare country!" Sheldon thought to himself he had a list of facts he could reel off about the famous Bard and Stratford's prominence in English literature but decided against it. This was about his girlfriend's, correcting himself in his mind his Fiancée's work. Surprisingly to Sheldon it felt good calling her that but it may take some time getting used to actually saying it in a conversation.

"Yes, it is most famous for Shakespeare, millions of tourists visit each year for that" Dr. Edwards added and still smiling.

Sheldon still leading the conversation and happy to keep doing so "So what are you working on at the moment Dr. Edwards?" Sheldon glanced over to Amy and thought he saw a nodding approval and a smile from her at the way Sheldon was talking to her colleague.

"Some neural pathway study at the moment, we have some new brand equipment that might provide us with something new to think about, a different way of looking at it" answered Dr. Edwards.

"Fascinating" Sheldon replied, his eyes lit up with interest.

Dr. Edwards looked over at Amy "Dr. Fowler's work really intrigues me and I have been following her career for some time. Princeton is very lucky to have her here for the summer."

"Thank you Dr. Edwards, coming from you that means a lot" she said smiling.

Sheldon had a sense of pride of seeing Amy's work being recognized. He knew she had a stellar reputation in the neuroscience community working at some of the best institutions in America but seeing that being recognized by others in front of him always brought him joy.

Sheldon suddenly notices Dr. Edwards has a pen in his top left pocket on his lab coat and he instantly recognizes the color and the small logo on it.

"Dr. Edwards, by any chance are you a fan of the British Sci-Fi comedy series Red Dwarf?" he asked him.

"Yes, how did you know that?" he replied, slightly surprised and taken aback at the randomness of the question.

Sheldon gently pointing towards Dr. Edwards' chest to where the pen was located "Your Pen, perhaps gives it away."

Dr. Edwards looking a bit coy and slightly embarrassed "Ah I was working on some paperwork this morning and must have left the pen in here. I don't usually use this pen at work."

"I am a massive fan of Red Dwarf myself Dr. Edwards. I am really looking forward to the new series next year!" smiled Sheldon.

Dr. Edwards smiling, looking less embarrassed and at ease "Me too, who is your favorite character Dr. Cooper?"

"Please call me Sheldon, my favorite character is probably Kryten" answered Sheldon.

Dr. Edwards chuckling with a small laugh "They are all great but my favorite would have to be Lister, he reminds me a bit of my student days of being a bit of a slob, I had curry stains on my t-shirts."

Amy thought to herself we could be here for some time talking about that stupid Sci-Fi TV series that Sheldon has got me to watch 7 times from start to finish with an 8th time no doubt planned at some point. She looks at her watch and decides it's time to get out of here. It's almost lunchtime, thinking to herself perhaps we can get something to eat.

"Dr. Edwards, if you will excuse us I think it's time we got moving, there are some other parts of the campus I want to show Sheldon before he heads back to Pasadena" she said with a smile.

Dr. Edwards a little sad that the conversation about Red Dwarf is about to come to end replied "Of course, Sheldon it was nice meeting you, Dr. Fowler I will probably see you tomorrow?"

"Yes, I am back in the lab tomorrow" Amy replied.

Sheldon also a little sad that the conversation about Red Dwarf had ended before he got a chance to try and rank and compare the seasons with Dr. Edwards, "Dr. Edwards, it was a pleasure meeting you as well." And with that Dr. Edwards left.

Sheldon and Amy made their way to the exit door and Sheldon excitedly said "So what now, we have seen your impressive lab and met one of your colleagues, what else do you want to show me or do?"

"Well it's almost lunchtime, how about we check out this local restaurant that a colleague recommended to me, it's not far from the campus" she answered.

Sheldon still hungry as the morning toast didn't really satisfy him "Sure why not, how about after we go for a nice leisurely stroll in the campus gardens afterwards?"

"That sounds perfect Sheldon" she said smiling.

Amy and Sheldon go through the door leaving the lab and make their way to the restaurant.

 ** _Meanwhile in Pasadena, Apartment 4A_**

"I have left 4 voicemails on Amy's phone and still no reply. I don't know if them not responding is a good sign or not" said a worried Penny.

"I'm leaning towards it being a bad sign, like a do not disturb us kind of vibe but who knows for sure" added Raj.

Bernadette looking over at Leonard "And you have left several voicemails on Sheldon's phone?"

"5 times, and no response. Not even a simple text message" Leonard answered her.

"Well there isn't much we can do here, how about we go and get something to eat? There is a baby friendly place recommended to me by someone at work we could try" Howard said and he looked around the group to see if they were up for that.

"Let's, I am starving and there is nothing we can do until they respond" said a very eager Raj.

"I'll go and get my coat, do you want me to bring Halley back whilst I get my coat?" asked Penny.

"Yes thank you Penny, she must still be asleep or we would have heard something from her" replied Bernadette.

Penny walks to her and Leonard's bedroom to get her coat and Halley.

 ** _Back at Princeton_**

Sheldon and Amy full after a nice meal at the restaurant Amy's colleague recommended are going for a stroll through the famous gardens on campus this time holding hands. Lush green trees everywhere the fragrant smell of colorful flowers filling the air.

"It's a shame it's not the end of July, they say the small garden near the McCosh Health Center is truly beautiful around that time of year" said Amy.

"It's beautiful what I am seeing already and I am not just talking about the gardens" said a smiling Sheldon who was looking at Amy.

"Sheldon!" blushed Amy and clearly liking the compliment.

Sheldon spotted a nice clean looking bench under a beautiful pink and white Magnolia tree not in full bloom yet but beautiful nonetheless "Let's sit down here for a bit." Amy agreed and they both sat down on the bench still holding hands.

Sheldon holding Amy's left hand feels the ring on her finger "So, how do you like the ring?" Amy looking down at it, "It's beautiful Sheldon and a perfect fit, your forebears must have had similar sized hands."

Sheldon laughs "I am glad you liked it, I was worried it might be a bit too vintage looking, I did consider perhaps getting a newer ring but this means a lot to my family and has been passed down the generations and not an easy history at that." Sheldon remembering the story told about the Comanche's.

"It's perfect Sheldon and I am happy and somewhat proud to wear a ring with so much history and means a lot to you and your family" They both smile at each other and then go in for a kiss.

Some minutes pass as they are sitting on the bench, hand in hand and looking content. Sheldon breaking the silence "So, what do we tell our friends?"

Amy looking unsure "I don't know, do we tell them? Do we try to keep it a surprise for later?"

"I know I said earlier you are not great at keeping secrets but I acknowledge I am just as bad if not worse at keeping them. If we keep it secret I have no doubt I will crack and reveal it fairly quickly when I land back in Pasadena" he laughed.

Amy acknowledging this being the likely outcome "That's true. I think I can keep this a secret at least for a while, but when you get back home and feel the need to reveal it then do it." Amy breaks into a small laugh "I have no doubt that both Penny and Bernadette will contact me straight away once they find out."

"Ok let's try it, I'll catch my flight and go back and see if I can keep it secret. You try and keep it a secret to Penny or any of our friends that contact you. Let's see how long we can actually keep it under wraps" he said stating their agreed upon plan.

"It's a plan then" she said nodding in full agreement.

Some time passes and Sheldon looks at his watch "Well my flight is in a few hours and of course I will want to get there a bit early beforehand. But first I think we have some time to do some shopping, your cupboards are so bare and I don't want my Fiancée to starve to death" he smiled.

Amy laughs but also loved the moment Sheldon said Fiancée out loud "I won't starve to death, I can do shopping you know" Sheldon smiling "I know but let me help you before I go."

Sheldon and Amy get up off the bench still holding hands, Sheldon in particular taking one last look at the beautiful surroundings and they then made their way to the Grocery Store just off campus.

 ** _An hour or so later at Amy's Princeton apartment_**

Sheldon and Amy are putting groceries away, enough to last 3 or 4 days. The fridge is stocked with milk and other essentials, the cupboards now looking a lot less bare which Sheldon is happy to see.

Sheldon looking at his watch "I will have to go shortly to the airport, I want to be at least an hour there before the flight."

"Do you want me to call you a cab?" she asked him.

"No need, I already pulled up the details and booked one with this handy app. Amy I have several missed calls and voicemails from Leonard." Amy turns on her phone and notices she has had some missed calls from Penny and some voicemails too.

Amy chuckled "They sure are worried or wondering what is going on" Sheldon also finds this amusing.

"Well the cab will be here in a moment, I am going to miss you Amy all over again" he said sounding slightly sad.

Amy walks up to Sheldon and gives him a hug "I am going to miss you too Sheldon, but it was lovely to see you."

"Amy about that Ramona stuff, thank you for being so understanding" he said to her smiling.

"It's okay, you told me what happened and I trust you. Besides I know that's not the main reason you came here" she said looking down once again at her left hand and admiring the rock on her finger.

"I can't wait to marry you Amy" he said to her lovingly. Amy goes in for a kiss and afterwards is slightly breathless "And I can't wait to marry you Sheldon."

A text message ping is heard, Sheldon looking at his phone "The cab is here, well this is it" he said.

"Call me when you get back home, doesn't matter about the time I will have the phone near me and I just want to know you are back home safely. And we shall Skype at our usual times?" she wanted to confirm with him.

"Yes, I'll talk to you tomorrow" he said.

Amy responded immediately and enthusiastically "Shall I walk with you to the cab?"

Sheldon smiling, "Yes I would like that very much" Sheldon opens the door and holds it open, Amy grabs her jacket and they make their way out of the apartment and head to the waiting cab.

 ** _Meanwhile in Pasadena, Apartment 4A_**

Penny and Bernadette are in the 4A apartment, the guys have gone out for a stroll after the meal they had and to try and get Halley to sleep. It was Howard's turn to take Halley for a walk in her pram and the guys were happy to go with him, secretly wanting to get away from all the speculation over lunch by both Bernadette and Penny.

Penny hears her mobile phone ping with a message, she quickly grabs her phone and reads it "Amy just replied, says Sheldon came for an impromptu visit and they had a lovely day around campus showing Sheldon where she works."

"Is that it? Sheldon went all that way, almost 3,000 miles to just to spend a day together?" Bernadette responding to the news.

"It does sound a bit fishy, shall we Skype Amy? See if she responds?" Penny asked Bernadette.

"Sure let's do that" answered Bernadette.

Penny goes over to her desk and opens her pink laptop, she move the mouse and the screen lights up. She enters her password which takes her to the home screen and double clicks on the Skype desktop icon, selects Amy on the contact noticing she is online and initiates a call.

 ** _Meanwhile at Amy's Apartment at Princeton_**

Amy is still in her clothes from the day, sitting on the couch with the laptop on the table in front of her. There is a cup of tea to her right and she is busily typing away on her laptop working on a plan for tomorrow's time in the lab when her Skype pops up a call from Penny. Amy panics, it was clear that the text message she sent a few minutes earlier wasn't enough detail but then she remembers to be cool and keep to the story that she agreed with Sheldon.

Amy mutters to herself out loud "I can do this, I can keep this secret for now." Amy now cool and composed accepts the call and a window pops up with Penny and Bernadette on the screen.

"Hey" said Amy in a smiling and friendly voice.

"Amy we have been trying to contact you for hours, is everything ok over there?" asked a curious Penny.

Amy still holding her composure and looking calm and not at all fidgety or nervous "Everything is fine here, Sheldon came to visit as he was missing me."

"It has only been a few days since you left, it's not that long ago since he last saw you and you have been Skyping several times since then" added Bernadette.

"I know, but I kind of get where he is coming from I have missed him like crazy too" said Amy.

"Oh we were sure this had something to do with that crazy Ramona" Bernadette nodding along with Penny as she had some of the very same thoughts.

Amy happy to reveal this bit of information and her voiced slightly raised "Oh Ramona did something alright, she kissed Sheldon!"

Penny and Bernadette both at the same time "That bitch! You have to give us some more details!"

Amy then relayed to the girls what happened as Sheldon told it, all three of them voicing displeasure and profanities about Ramona. Penny with a guilty look on her face "I know you asked us to keep an eye on him and I am sorry we couldn't stop her, believe me we tried and I did talk to Sheldon to try and tell him what Ramona was up to…"

Amy not at all angry or upset reassured the girls "I know it's not any of your fault, it's that skank Ramona who threw herself at Sheldon. You couldn't possibly be around him all the time and acting as some kind of barrier to her advances 24/7. I am kind of proud of how Sheldon handled it, he got out of there and his reaction should have said enough to her that he wasn't interested." she replied.

"Do you want me to say something to her? Give her a piece of my mind?" asked Penny.

Amy strongly said "No, just leave it at that. Sheldon reckons she won't be there much longer once she has done some of her work at Caltech. And if she is still there at work when I get back then I will deal with her myself" she said in a somewhat menacing for her kind of tone.

Penny nodded, accepting Amy's judgment and taking her instructions on how it should be handled "So did you have a nice time showing Sheldon the sights and sounds around Princeton?"

Amy recounted their day's activities to the girls, gushing over how supportive Sheldon was in the lab and taking a big interest in her work. She then mentioned that Sheldon got on well with one of her colleagues he met, talked about the restaurant they ate at and the lovely stroll they had through the beautiful and picturesque gardens on campus.

"Sounds like you had a fun day" said a smiling Bernadette.

Amy nodded and smiled and then switched interest to what they had been up to in the meantime, "So what you all been up to?" Amy asked them.

Bernadette and Penny relayed what they had been up to. The restaurant they ate at and noting it being baby friendly. Bernadette mentioned how impressed Howard was with the setup and food and they both agreed they will be going there again with Halley.

"So where are the guys now?" asked a curious Amy.

Penny responded they have gone for a walk with Halley and also exercising off some of that food they ate which was very good but rather filling.

"So Sheldon is on his flight back now?" asked Penny.

"Yes, he said he will call me when he gets there and we shall get back to Skyping at our usual times tomorrow." Amy reached for her cup of tea but spilled some of it on the table, avoiding her laptop but leaving a puddle on the table she cursed.

"I better get a cloth and clean this up, I'll be back in a second. I don't want to mark this table especially as it's not mine" added an annoyed with herself Amy.

Amy went over to the cupboard near the sink and got out two cloth hand towels, she ran the tap and allowed a small amount of water to soak in one of the towels squeezing most of it out but it was still damp enough to mop and clean the table. The dry cloth for afterwards to dry it down a bit.

Amy made her way to the table, the girls still on the Skype screen looking at Amy. She could see the camera was slightly out of focus on her so with her right hand she moved the screen slightly down towards her and with her left hand she was mopping up the tea with the damp cloth. As she was dabbing the stain she looked away from the screen focusing on getting it all up.

"Amy?" said Penny with a low voice.

"Yes Penny?" Amy replied still working on the stain and not looking at the laptop screen.

"What is that on your hand?" again said Penny still in a low hushed voice.

Amy looks up at the screen and sees Penny with her mouth wide open, her eyes bulging almost out of her sockets in shock and waiting for Amy to answer the question.

Amy with a coy smile and knowing the game is up, " Err yeah, about that..."


	3. Chapter 3

**THE FOWLER-COOPER RESOLUTION - Chapter Three**

 ** _Pasadena, Apartment 4A and also at Amy's Princeton Apartment_**

Before Amy had a chance to respond to Penny's question, Penny interjected with enthusiasm "I have never known you to wear jewellery on your hands Amy, or any jewellery for that matter? And no the Tiara doesn't count, or that one time you wore earrings!"

Penny looked over to Bernadette to her right and smiled "You know what that is don't you?"

"The picture isn't great" Bernadette said as she tried to get closer to the laptop screen.

Penny ordered Amy to hold her hand up to the screen a bit closer and she duly obliged, the game was up she thought to herself so no point hiding anything.

"No! Is that… Is that an engagement ring?!" said Bernadette gasping with surprise.

"It looks like it to me and I have seen that ring before" Penny nodded.

Amy's ears seemed to prick up with interest at that comment, she sat up alert "Wait, you have seen this ring before?" Amy asked.

"Yeah I saw Sheldon cleaning it one day when we were all living together in 4A" Penny replied.

Phew Penny thought to herself, she didn't think it would be a good idea to mention Sheldon's performance at the 'Spockumentary' and his failed attempt to propose that time and yet she almost let slip that fact.

"So are you engaged then?" asked Bernadette.

"Yes, Sheldon and I got engaged" Amy answered with a massive smile.

The response made Penny jump up on the spot for a few seconds and squeal with delight. She then placed her hands on her cheeks and boomed a loud and happy "Oh my God, you have to tell us how it happened?!"

Amy then recounted what happened. The knock-knock Amy, opening the door to find Sheldon on bended knee with a ring in his hand and asking her to marry him.

"I bet you had a panic attack!" Bernadette chuckled.

"No, no I didn't and what would make you say that?" replied Amy struggling to keep a straight face and shaking her head.

"You told us you had a panic attack when Sheldon told you that he loved you at the Prom, so I would imagine something like this might trigger a similar emotional response. Plus we both know you have wanted this for a long time" Bernadette responded.

"I don't recall telling you that", said a coy and slightly embarrassed looking Amy.

"Yes you did!" shouted both Penny and Bernadette in unison.

Amy admitting defeat "Yeah I remember now I did tell you both that, and to answer your question Bernadette yes I did get a bit short of breath and have some palpitations. Sheldon Cooper proposed to me, any woman would have that reaction in that situation."

"Yeah right" Bernadette snorted. Penny couldn't help but laugh and Amy sent over a fairly tame scowl.

"So you said yes before or after the panic attack?" Penny said enthusiastically and very keen to learn the full details.

"After" Amy replied. "We talked about why now and also the whole Ramona business which I have already told you about."

Penny gushed "I am so so happy for you two!" Bernadette also with a smile "Me too!"

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" said Penny with a curious look on her face. "Like I said we have been trying to contact you for hours and this is the sort of happy news you want out there with your friends knowing about it!"

"I guess we just wanted to have a bit of fun and see which one of us cracked first. You know both Sheldon and I are not very good at keeping secrets or lying" Amy replied.

"Yeah, the wall store is out of walls" Penny chuckled. Amy gave her a 'well played' nod and acknowledgment.

"My money would have been on Sheldon cracking first" laughed Bernadette. "His cover story would get so far-fetched and then he couldn't maintain eye contact."

"Sheldon said the same" laughed Amy. "It's not like we want to keep it a secret or anything, believe me I feel like shouting from the rooftops, I am going to marry Sheldon Lee Cooper."

Bernadette sniggered again.

"Hey that's my Fiancé and my future Husband you are laughing at." said Amy with a bit of a frown at Bernadette's reaction.

"Sorry" replied Bernadette.

"Going back to your question Penny. Like I said it was just a bit of fun, an experiment, just as much on us as on your eventual reaction" replied Amy.

"You guys and your experiments" Penny rolled her eyes and Amy shrugged trying to look innocent.

"So what do you want us to say to Sheldon?" said Bernadette waiting for instructions on how to handle this, Penny also nodding at Bernadette's good question.

"Well Sheldon said he will ring me when he gets home to let me know he got back safely. I'll be honest and tell him then that I cracked, he will have expected me to blab in excitement. He will probably get a chuckle in the way I revealed it. I completely forgot I was wearing the ring, it feels just so natural already wearing it" said Amy.

"Besides, I think he might be feeling a little down when he comes back, perhaps a little embarrassed about this Ramona business" said Amy with a hint of concern and worry in her voice.

"I mean we talked it all out, he knows I am not mad and I thought he handled the situation well, but he also knows that you guys spotted something before he did. He feels he should have spotted it even with his difficulties when it comes to reading people or at the very least took on board what you were saying more seriously."

"Well I did try to tell him" Penny replied.

"I know you did" said Amy, "And I think he knows it too now."

"What time does his flight get in?" Penny asked.

"He is due to land around 11.20pm your time, then you have to figure it will take up to an hour to get through the airport and get a cab home" answered Amy.

"So a fair few hours yet, I'm guessing we might not see him until tomorrow" Penny said.

"Speaking of late times, it's getting late here and I still have some preparation to do for tomorrow's time in the lab before I turn in for the night" said Amy.

"OK then and good night! Oh and congratulations to the future Mrs Cooper" said Penny smiling.

"Congratulations" chimed in Bernadette. "We are both so happy for the two of you and I am sure the guys will be as well when we tell them."

"Thank you" Amy smiled. "I have a busy day but I will probably text the both of you tomorrow at some point, see how it all went with Sheldon's return."

Penny and Bernadette in unison "Goodnight", "Goodnight" Amy replied.

For another hour Amy continued to work on her plan of action for tomorrow's time in the lab. No major work being started yet but she wanted to get everything ready for when she started her research, making sure she had everything she needed. She was as meticulous as ever when it came to Science.

Starting to yawn she turned off her laptop leaving it on the table and then moved off the couch. She then decided to have a shower, get her nightgown on and then head to bed. Such an amazing day she thought to herself with so many emotions, she felt content and had never felt happier. "I should sleep pretty well tonight" she thought to herself.

Dressed for bed she picked up her clothing from the bathroom floor and went to put her clothing in the washing basket with the other bits of clothing already in there.

She paused at the basket and let out a small gasp. In front of her and draped on top of the basket was the Green t-shirt Sheldon was wearing when he arrived, attached to it with a bulldog clip presumably taken from the desk at Amy's lab was a note which she read:

 **Amy,**

 **As I am wearing the clean t-shirt that you had in your possession to go back home in I thought you could keep this. Keep a good eye on it and look after it for me, it's a special one after today's events. I look forward to the moment when you return home and you give it back to me.**

 **Oh and good luck with your work in the lab tomorrow.**

 **Love,**

 **Sheldon**

"Ohhh Sheldon", Amy was hugging the t-shirt trying to fight tears of joy and happiness.

Amy then turned the lights off in the living room, kitchen and the surrounding areas and headed to bed with the t-shirt still in her hand.

 ** _Flight UA275 on its way to Los Angeles International (LAX)_**

About an hour and a half into the flight Sheldon started to yawn, he didn't know if it was just fatigue or the roller coaster of emotions during the course of the last 24 hours or so that was finally catching up to him, but he felt tired.

The flight attendant was starting to make her rounds and asked Sheldon if he wanted anything.

"Anything from the trolley?" said the flight attendant.

"Something small and something to drink, do you have any snacks?" asked Sheldon.

"Would a packet of Cheetos do?" the attendant said. Sheldon replied sure "Can I also have a bottle of water with that?"

The flight attendant rustled in her trolley and got out both a packet of Cheetos and a bottle of water.

"Thanks" Sheldon replied with a smile.

As he was eating his packet of snacks he started to think about what he was going to tell his friends about his time at Princeton. But first of all he would have to tell them about Ramona and what happened at his office. He was dreading this conversation because of the talk he had with Penny the night prior and dismissing her notion that Ramona was interested in him that way. The second was what to tell his friends about the engagement. He had agreed with Amy they were going to try and keep it a secret for as long as possible, but deep down he knew one of them would crack and confess and he was happy to admit it would likely be him.

When Sheldon was waiting in the departure hall and just before he got on his flight he sent two text messages. One with the message:

 _ **"Can we meet tomorrow morning at your office? Around 8:30 am? We need to talk."**_

 _ **"Sure, I'll see you then"**_ was the response.

The other was to Leonard telling him he was fine and now on his flight back, but he will be getting back late so he will see him sometime tomorrow morning. Leonard's response was "Ok Buddy I'll see you tomorrow, glad to hear you are safe and OK."

Sheldon thought to himself he could be in for a difficult day tomorrow, but at the same time also an opportunity should it come out to share some happy news as well. But that was tomorrow and he still had several hours' flight and some sleep to prepare for what tomorrow may bring.

Feeling tired he asked the flight attendant on her next pass up his aisle for a pillow and blanket. He placed the pillow behind his head and then pulled the blanket over him. Sheldon usually never sleeps on airplanes but he did that night and slept rather well.

 ** _Meanwhile in Pasadena Apartment 4A_**

It was starting to turn to early evening, not yet night-time proper but the skies were starting to darken. Penny and Bernadette were sitting on the 4A couch watching some television, some hot drinks on the table and a box of biscuits in front of them when they heard the door go and in came Howard as usual holding a baby car seat with a sleeping Halley in it followed in by Leonard and Raj.

Howard looked over to Penny but didn't need to say anything, "Sure go ahead" Penny replied and Howard took the sleeping Halley to the bedroom.

"I heard from Sheldon, he is on a flight back now but won't be back until late. He said he will see us tomorrow morning at some point" said Leonard.

"We heard from Amy as well" replied Penny.

Raj made his way to the fridge to get himself a bottle of water, "You want anything Leonard?" asked Raj. Yeah get me one too whilst you are there replied Leonard "Me three" said Howard as he came back into the living room minus the sleeping Halley. Raj went into the fridge and got three bottles of water out.

Howard sat next to his wife and Penny on the couch, Leonard moved towards one of the chairs and sat down, Raj handed out the water and sat in the chair next to Leonard.

"So what did Amy have to say?" said Leonard.

Penny looked at Bernadette to her right and they both smiled at each other, "Do you want the surprising news or the not so surprising news first?" asked Bernadette.

"Not so surprising news first" replied Raj.

"Well Ramona made her move on Sheldon, as Amy told it Sheldon asked Ramona what her intentions were and get this she kissed him!" As Penny told them gasps among the group were heard as the details were revealed.

"What happened then?" sighed Leonard showing some genuine concern.

"Sheldon got the hell out of there, got right up and left" said Penny.

"Explains why he wasn't at his office when I went to pick him up, he must have freaked out and bolted to Princeton and to Amy" said Leonard.

"Well he told Amy all about it, telling her exactly what happened and stressing he had no part in it. But that's not the reason or the main reason anyway that he went there" said Bernadette.

"Let me guess we are about to hear the surprising news?" asked Leonard.

Penny looking over to Bernadette and gave her a nod and then a smile "You tell them Bernadette."

"Well, Sheldon asked Amy to marry him" said Bernadette. Penny once again squealed with delight and stamped her feet.

Leonard and Howard were taken aback by the news and looked shocked, Raj kind of looked annoyed. "So Sheldon Cooper is going to get married before I do?" a despondent Raj hit out.

"Hey, you need to find a woman first and actually be in a relationship with her for a while before you can think of getting married. So you are not exactly in position to beat Sheldon down the aisle here buddy. Unless you want to give in and ask your parents to finally arrange a marriage" quipped Howard with a sarcastic look on his face.

Raj sent over a glare to Howard for his remarks but then added "I am happy for the two of them, I assume she said yes?"

"Of course but there was some delay in giving a yes" said Penny cackling with laughter.

Leonard looked over to his wife and laughed "Another panic attack I am guessing?"

Penny nodded and gave out another chuckle "You bet she did."

"Also get this they were going to try and keep it a secret, see how long they could actually keep it secret before revealing it" said a shocked Bernadette.

"Sheldon would have folded so quickly" said Leonard. "I know Sheldon, he can't keep secrets. The cover story would become more and more elaborate and he would eventually struggle to maintain eye contact." "I said the same" added Bernadette, looking proud that she had already said that.

"So if it was to be a secret then how did you girls find out?" asked a curious Howard.

Penny and Bernadette relayed the story of Amy spilling the tea on the table and wiping it up forgetting she was wearing the ring so it was visible. The whole gang laughed at that.

After a few minutes of laughing, "What's going to happen with Ramona?" asked a curious Raj. "Isn't she still going to be working at Caltech for some time?"

"Good question, it sure is going to be awkward around the place if she is still there. Even more so if she is there when Amy does come back" replied Leonard. "We may have to talk to her, be more direct and help Sheldon out here."

Bernadette stood up and looked at her watch, "We can discuss that tomorrow, but it's getting late and I want to get Halley home for bed." Howard got up as well "I'll go and get her." "I think I'll head off as well" said Raj.

"Okay" replied Penny.

Howard came back into the living room with Halley in tow, they said goodbye and goodnight to each other and Howard, Bernadette and Raj started making for the door.

"I'll text you tomorrow, maybe organize it so we are all here when Sheldon shows up tomorrow morning" said Penny. "Sounds good" replied Bernadette as they left the apartment.

Leonard turns to his wife "Want to watch something on Netflix before bed?"

"Sure" replied Penny "There is this new series I heard about called Girlboss, we could check it out." Leonard had something else in mind, but he went along with her choice. They got some snacks, drinks and sat on the couch watching TV.

 ** _Some hours later in Pasadena, Apartment 4B_**

Sheldon opened the door and walked into his apartment looking very tired and still feeling worn out despite managing to get some sleep on the airplane. His flight landed just after 11.20pm Pacific Time, but it took a good hour or so to get through the airport and take a cab back home. He crashed down on the couch closing his eyes for a second fully spread out.

A few minutes later and fighting the urge to fall asleep he remembered he promised he would call Amy to let her know he had landed safely and got back to their home. He took the mobile out of his pocket and dialed her number.

"Hi Sheldon" Amy whispered as she tried to clear her sleepy and somewhat dry voice.

"Hi Amy, just thought I would check in with you to say I landed safely and I am back home" he said.

Amy took a sip of water next to her nightstand and sat herself up a bit more in the bed, leaning back against the headboard, "Did you have a good flight?"

"Yeah it was ok, not too much turbulence and I even managed to get some sleep on the flight and you know how I much I really don't like sleeping on planes" he answered.

"You must have been tired, perhaps the day's activities wore you out?" she replied.

"Possibly, anyway just checking in with you as agreed. I know it's much later over there with the time difference and I know you are back at work in the lab tomorrow, so I'll let you get back to sleep" he said.

"One moment, before you go I need to tell you something first" she replied.

"Intriguing" he said with a tone of his voice curious to learn what Amy wanted to tell him.

"I have a confession to make, our friends know we are engaged. You are not mad or disappointed that I blabbed are you?" she asked him.

Sheldon laughed "No I am not upset or mad, remember our conversation? I knew one of us would crack, it was just a matter of when not if. Actually I am happy it's out there and somewhat relieved, one less thing to deal with tomorrow."

Sheldon relayed his plans for tomorrow morning to Amy, Amy made some points and gave him some advice over the phone trying to be as supportive as she could and encouraging. "You can do this" she added at the end.

"We shall talk tomorrow on Skype, I'll check in to see how you went on. Perhaps an hour later than usual if that's ok? I have a grad student that wanted to pick my brains over something, the only time she is available is then" she said.

"That's fine" Sheldon replied. "Oh and Goodnight Amy, I love you."

"Goodnight Sheldon, I love you too. Oh before I forget I found the note you left, it was lovely" she said with a smile.

Sheldon also smiling on the other end of the phone "Good, take care of that t-shirt for me. Oh and once again I am so proud of you, enjoy your time in the lab."

"I will and thank you" she replied.

One again they said goodnight to each other and the call ended. Sheldon slowly got off the couch and made his way to his bed.

 ** _Caltech University, Pasadena 8:30 a.m._**

Sheldon was walking through the corridors of the University to be precise the Physics Department when he came to his destination. He checked his watch it was 8:30am precisely. He then looked at the door, still no name on it as the incumbent only recently started doing some work at the University and the maintenance guys clearly hadn't got around to it yet.

Sheldon knocked on the door three times "Dr. Nowitzki" he said with each knock.

"Come in" was the reply.

Sheldon entered the room, slightly tidier and with a lot less boxes than the other day when he was last in there. Some of the shelves started to fill with books and there was now a proper desk with a black leather chair behind it and a chair for visitors in front of it. The desk was facing the door so that the person behind the desk could look up and see whoever entered.

"Dr. Cooper" she said with excitement as she started to get up out of her leather chair.

"No need to get up Dr. Nowitzki, I won't be staying long" said Sheldon. She sat back down in her chair and leaned back into it.

"I didn't think I would see you again after the other day, after you left when you know…" looking away and unable to make eye contact as she said this.

"When you kissed me" he replied.

"Yes" she said.

"Well I originally had no intention of coming over, but I feel the need to set things straight between us properly this time, as I clearly wasn't clear enough during our conversation the other day" he said.

"Oh, I thought you were pretty clear with your reaction, but go on" she said with a curious look on her face wanting to see where the conversation was about to go.

"I assume you have heard of 'boy meets girl, boy falls in love stories', you know the ones you see in romantic films or novels?" he asked her.

"Of course" she nodded.

"Well I would like to tell you a story" he said.

"I am listening" she replied as she leaned further back into her chair, one of those office type chairs that reclines.

 **"You see there was this boy who met this cute bespectacled girl with hair the color of mud and with an intellect to match his own which he found intriguing. They immediately hit it off, starting a friendship and stayed in contact over the course of some months.**

 **Feelings slowly developed between the two of them but they weren't sure what to do about it. Eventually they got together became boyfriend and girlfriend and in time fell in love.**

 **Over the years the boy resisted and had to be dragged at times kicking and screaming to advance the relationship and let it grow, not because he didn't want to but because he was scared and not sure how to cope with this increase in feelings for the girl.**

 **Like most stories the path is not always smooth and easy, after several years together they broke up and spent some months apart. They both tried to move on, perhaps try something new and different but the love they had for each other brought them back together again. This time after the painful breakup taught him some lessons the boy was now fully committed and all in when it came to their relationship.**

 **Back together their relationship continued to go from strength to strength, they finally moved in together and then after thinking about it for a while and feeling that the time was right the boy proposed to the girl the other night and she said yes."**

There was silence for a second and then Ramona in a low voice "I think I understand."

"The heart wants what the heart wants Dr. Nowitzki, and my heart belongs to Amy. Always has and always will" a triumphant and confident Sheldon said.

"She is a lucky woman Sheldon" she said slightly down and despondent.

"No, I am a very lucky man" he replied.

"I'll be doing some work at another university in a couple of months, part of my thesis. I have an old mentor of mine willing to help me with it. I'll keep out of your way until then" she said.

"That would be a good idea, and good luck in your future endeavours. You showed me some very promising ideas and work, I am sure you will be a success with them" replied Sheldon trying to offer some form of a parting olive branch.

Ramona stood up, "Goodbye Dr. Cooper."

"Goodbye Dr. Nowitzki" Sheldon replied.

And with that Sheldon walked out of the office and closed the door. He let out a sigh of relief but then felt proud of the mature conversation he just had with Ramona, he set her straight and resolved the situation.

 _ **Shortly after in Pasadena, Apartment 4A**_

"What time did Sheldon say he was coming over?" said Penny looking at her watch.

"9:30, he said he had to pop into work to sort something out" replied Leonard.

The door clicked and Howard, Bernadette and Raj entered the apartment. "What time is Sheldon coming over?" said Bernadette enthusiastically and with a keen interest in her voice.

"9:30" Penny replied. "Okay" said Bernadette.

"Halley not with you today?" asked a curious Leonard.

"No she is with my parents today" said Bernadette. "They are looking after her at our house, we will be going out for a meal and a day out later this afternoon."

"That sounds really nice" said Leonard.

"Yeah my parents are great with her. We will go out for meal, check out a few sights. Oh and Howard has found this website that has several trails and scenic walks to get your baby to sleep" replied Bernadette.

"Finding baby friendly restaurants, special scenic walks. Is there anything I can't do?" said a proud and somewhat smug Howard. The group all chuckled.

"Well that food yesterday was delicious" Raj chimed in.

They sat down, got some snacks and something to drink and were discussing that restaurant and the food from yesterday when Sheldon walked in.

"Hello" said Sheldon.

"Hey" said the group, "Welcome home buddy" said Leonard.

Sheldon walked over to the 4A fridge and got himself a drink and then made his way to his usual treasured spot on the couch and sat down. He let out a tired sigh and took a sip of his bottle of water.

"You OK?" asked Penny.

"Yeah I am fine, just an emotionally draining 48 hours or so. So what has been going on with you all?" he asked.

"Oh nothing much, we all went out for a meal yesterday that was pretty much it. And you, what did you get up to in Princeton?" replied Penny. Of course she knew about the Ramona stuff and the engagement they all did, but thought it best to let Sheldon explain it and in his own way.

"Well I have an apology to make to you Penny and I suspect to the rest of you as well, you were right about Ramona" Sheldon said.

"Amy told us what happened with Ramona Sheldon" said Bernadette. "She did?" replied Sheldon. Sheldon wasn't mad, in fact he felt kind of relieved that all of the details were told to his friends about what happened, some of the stress started to lift.

"I just, I just couldn't read her intentions. It made no sense to me and I didn't pick up on what she was trying to do. It was only when you talked to me that night Penny and I went to bed I started to actually think about the possibility so I asked her" said Sheldon.

He went through the conversation they had and the events as they played out, matching what they already knew from Amy.

"And then she kissed you?" asked Raj. "Yes replied Sheldon, I told her why I wasn't interested and she just kissed me."

"That sounds rough for you buddy, I am sorry you had to go through that" said Leonard with sympathy in his voice.

"I'm not, I would have loved it!" said Raj with a grin.

"That's because a) you are single and b) you are jackass" Howard said.

Leonard laughed but Bernadette, Penny and Sheldon gave them all glares.

"Anyway it's all resolved now, I spoke to Ramona this morning at the University. She is moving on in a couple of months and we agreed we will stay out of each other's way until then" Sheldon then told the gang about what was said and how it exactly played out.

"I love the boy meets girl story you told her" said Bernadette with a smile. Sheldon smiled back at her.

"It's good to hear she is leaving, I am glad she will be leaving before Amy gets back" said Penny.

"Yeah that would have been awkward" chimed in Bernadette.

"I think on behalf of all of us I think I can say we are all proud of how you handled this buddy once you found out" said Leonard. The whole gang chimed in with a "Hear Hear!"

"I don't know, I feel kind of foolish and embarrassed. That I should have picked up on it sooner and listened to you" Sheldon said as he looked at his bottle of water, not making eye contact with any of them.

"Sweetie, you know your limitations and like you said you have made big improvements on them. But I think you recognize yourself you may never become perfect at reading people, truth is nobody is" Penny said.

"I think the lesson here is that you sometimes have to put a little more trust in your friends and those who love you a bit more" Leonard added.

"You are right" said Sheldon with a smile and buoyed by their words.

"So did you enjoy Princeton and seeing Amy?" said Bernadette.

"Oh I did. We have both been missing each other so much so it was good to see each other. She showed me around her state of the art brand new lab and boy is it impressive. I also met one of her colleagues who was a nice chap from England and we got talking about Red Dwarf, he is a huge fan also" Sheldon answered Bernadette.

"Ah, did you ask him what is his favourite Season or character is?" asked Leonard.

"I was about to but we had to leave for lunch, and Lister was his answer" answered Sheldon.

"Ah I am more of a Rimmer man myself" chimed in Leonard.

"Cat is the way to go" replied Raj.

"Season two is my favourite" said Howard.

Penny clearly seeing the conversation is about to turn into a nerd fest discussion felt she had to interject. Besides Red Dwarf discussion was not the exciting news that she wanted to hear from Sheldon.

"So what else did you do?" Penny asked trying to change the subject and coax the engagement news out of him.

"Well we went to a restaurant that one of Amy's new colleagues recommend. The food was pretty good and then we went for a stroll around the campus gardens."

"Sounds romantic" said a smiling Raj.

"That was pretty much it really" added Sheldon.

The rest of the gang looked at each other, wondering what to say. They knew that Sheldon and Amy had got engaged but why wasn't Sheldon saying anything about it?

"Wait, is there nothing else you want to tell us?" asked Penny.

"No that is about it" Sheldon said and he got up from the couch "Now if you will all excuse me I have to do a couple of things around the apartment and then get ready for my Skype session with Amy."

"Hold on" shouted Penny perhaps a bit louder than she had intended.

"Yes?" replied Sheldon with a curious look on his face.

Penny thought to herself has something happened between Sheldon and Amy? Has for some reason the engagement been called off overnight? Should she not say anything at all and just let him go? She knew that Amy said she was going to tell Sheldon that we all knew about the engagement but did she not get around to it? Is Sheldon actually trying to keep it secret as they agreed?

"I… erm… I've… err…" Penny was struggling to come out with the right words. She was almost paralyzed with indecision, about what to say. She looked around the room and the rest of the gang who were staring at her wondering what she trying to say, they were no help at all.

Sheldon sat back down and looked directly at her "You know what you want to ask me."

Penny closing her eyes and wincing as she said it for fear that the situation had changed and was about to cause a real mess "I've heard you and Amy got engaged."

Sheldon was quiet for a moment, all eyes in the room looking at him then said "Yes we got engaged."

"Sheldonnnnnnn!" shouted Penny, "Why didn't you tell us yourself?!"

"What" Sheldon said with a sly smile "You already knew we got engaged, Amy told me last night, I was just waiting to see if you would ask me."

"Would you really have left the room and not told us, had we not already known?" asked a curious and slightly shocked Bernadette.

"I would have left the room and then probably a minute or two later come back in and had to tell you, you know what I am like with secrets" answered Sheldon.

A chorus of congratulations went around the room, Penny managed to sneak in a hug and the rest of the guys and also Bernadette patted Sheldon on the shoulder. Sheldon felt in a good mood and was happy so he was fine with all that contact.

"We should all go out tonight and celebrate" said Leonard.

"If it's OK with you all I would rather wait until Amy comes home and then we can celebrate all together" replied Sheldon.

"Agreed, that sounds like a great idea" said Leonard smiling.

Sheldon looked at his watch "I really must be getting off now, got a Skype call coming up shortly with Amy and I really don't want to miss it."

"OK, see you later. And congratulations once again to both of you, we are all really happy for the two of you" said a smiling and cheerful Penny. The rest of the gang chimed in agreement.

Sheldon made his way to the door, smiled and said "I'll see you later."

 ** _Meanwhile at Amy's Apartment in Princeton_**

Amy had a great morning in the lab going around with her team with a check-list making sure they have everything ready for starting her research. Most of the stuff was already in the lab but she put in a few requests as well, which should come in the next couple of days and then the real work begins.

Her colleagues noticed her engagement ring, she wasn't doing anything scientific or wearing lab gloves so she had it on display. Congratulations came from her colleagues and also a few grad students. Amy's smile was beaming all the time, gushing about her Fiancé and in particular how supportive he has been.

She then met the grad student who wanted to pick her brains and she provided some help to her. It felt good to provide some advice to one of the young minds who may one day do some great things she thought to herself.

She was now in her apartment pottering around, looking in her fridge and cupboards thinking what to do about lunch. She then went to the kettle filled it with water and flicked the switch, it started to boil. With a freshly made cup of tea she then sat down on the couch and opened her laptop, turning it on and then opening up Skype. She could see Sheldon was online so she took a sip of her tea and then made the call.

"Morning Sheldon" she said cheerfully and clearly happy to see him.

"Good morning Amy, well it's technically early afternoon where you are there" Sheldon smiled. "How was your day in the lab?"

"Good, made some excellent progress in the lab trying to get things ready for starting the research. Most of the stuff is already in the lab and accessible, but I had to order a few things" she answered with a clear enthusiasm and excitement in her voice.

"Good, I can tell you enjoyed it" he smiled.

"You been showing off your ring to your colleagues?" he asked her.

"How did you guess?" she asked, she let out a small laugh and also started to blush.

"Let's say I know you too well Amy Farrah Fowler" he chuckled.

"Yeah I told my colleagues and some grad students. They offered their congratulations" she said and Sheldon smiled.

Changing subject and very keen to learn how the morning went "How about you, how did you get on at the University and with Ramona?" she asked.

"Good, actually it went better than I thought it would. I was more direct with her and told her nothing was ever going to happen between us and that I am in the only relationship I ever want to be in" he answered.

"I am proud of you Sheldon" she said smiling.

"We agreed to avoid each other and she is going to be leaving the university in a couple of months anyway" he added.

"I hope what I said or my reactions didn't force you to do that. If she fully got the message and still wanted to be friends and you wanted to as well I would of course have supported you" she replied.

"No, my brain was telling me to get out of there when she made her advances and my brain is telling me it's best we avoid each other" he said.

"Okay then" Amy said. "If you are happy then I am happy."

"So how were our friends when you got back?" she asked him.

"Also good, I explained what happened with Ramona and that I felt like I should have listened to their advice more. They were very supportive" he smiled.

"I am relieved, I know it was causing you some concern about what to say to them" she said letting out a small sigh of relief for her Fiancé.

"I also had a bit of fun with them over the engagement, I managed to keep it quiet and wait until they asked me" He recounted the conversation and almost getting up and leaving and the expression on their faces.

Amy laughed "I would have loved to see that, I am sure I will hear about it later from Bernadette and Penny."

"I know I am not good with secrets or trying to withhold anything. But I kind of found it easier with this, maybe because I already knew they knew or maybe this is such happy news I felt in some way happy to play along" he replied.

"Has it sunk in yet that we are engaged?" she asked him with a curious look on her face interested to hear his response.

"Of course, I feel a range of emotions such as excited and happy. But most of all it just feels natural, it feels right" he answered smiling.

"So what are your plans this afternoon?" He asked her.

"Have some lunch and then do a bit more paperwork. I am done in the lab for today and there is not much I can do in there until some of the equipment I requested arrives" she answered.

"And you?" she asked him.

"Probably go over to Leonard and Penny's for a bit this afternoon. Maybe have something to eat with them" he answered.

"Good, I know you are ok but I still worry a little about you being at home on your own" she said with a small hint of worry in her voice.

"I am fine, I miss you of course and wish you were here. It doesn't feel the same without you or you not being near me" he said with a tone of sadness.

"Oh Sheldon I miss you too" she replied with similar feelings.

"I have some news that might interest you" he suddenly perked up remembering he had something to tell her.

"Yes?" she replied, her interest piqued.

"Whilst I was at work I stopped by Dr. Gablehauser's office, wondering if I had any time left from my annual leave. I do, quite a bit actually. He said I can take them as individual days or as a block, say a week maximum at a time" Sheldon said.

"So what are you thinking of doing?" she asked him excitedly.

"Well I was thinking of taking the odd day or two to come and visit you. Then maybe later in the summer when your research is well underway, or perhaps at a point when you are less busy I could come and stay for a week?" he smiled.

"Oh Sheldon I would love that!" she said smiling and clearly very happy.

"See with Skype, phone calls, text messages and visits it will feel like we won't be apart from each other for that long" he said smiling.

"It sounds perfect" she nodded and smiled. "Well I think I better go and make something to eat. I will talk to you again later tonight? The usual time?" she asked him.

"Of course" he replied. "I love you Amy, talk to you later."

"I love you too Sheldon. Speak to you later" she replied.

The Skype call ended and Amy sat on the couch in her Princeton apartment in silence reflecting on the events of the past 48 hours. Sheldon also sitting in silence on the couch in their apartment was also going over the day's events in his head. After some minutes Amy smiled and then got up from the couch went back to the kitchen area got some pots and pans out and started to make something to eat. Sheldon smiled got up off the 4B couch and did some housework before he made his way over to 4A to spend the afternoon with his friends.


End file.
